There's End Light Site By For Tunnel At Cork's Ravaged After Sunbeam The Being Of Fire, The

After being ravaged by fire, there's light at the end of the tunnel for Cork's Sunbeam site — C Make 3 €4m Agent Sunbeam Blackpool Jeremy Acres Site Cork City Expected Via 4 To Murphy

Sun, 22 Dec, 2024 - 11:43

Property Editor Tommy Barker

TWENTY one years after being ravaged by fire, a part of Cork city’s industrious past has come up for sale, for new uses — bright days might indeed beckon once more for the former Sunbeam site in born-again Blackpool.

Listed this month is a brownfield site of 4.3 acres next to Blackpool Retail Park which was once part of a major employer that had 4,000 workers at peak, dwindling to several hundred workers before being gutted by fire in September 2003.

A firefighter in 2003 surveying the scene after a huge fire at the Sunbeam Complex in Cork. Picture: Denis Minihane.

Other former Sunbeam/Dwyer buildings are close by, as is the Dulux paint plant, due to close in 2025 after a 145 years history, with the loss of 45 jobs. That paints site facing the Commons Road is expected to come up for sale some time after closure.

Now available, the 4.3 acre Sunbeam site is expected to sell for c €4m via agent Jeremy Murphy, acting for locally based vendors who acquired it in 2017 for €2.7m, while previous owners Rothbury Estates had got a planning grant on it for
c 400,000 sq ft of mixed use development in 2010, now lapsed.

Either separately, or together in a larger masterplan, both sites have enormous potential given their city setting, with a burst of activity in Blackpool in the past two years.

A 1995 aerial view of Blackpool Industrial Estate including the Sunbeam complex before it was destroyed by fire. Picture: Richard Mills

Several apartment schemes have been completed in Blackpool, with others in train, and areas like Blarney/Stoneview and Monard are earmarked for significant development; Blackpool’s retail park and shopping centre are well tenanted, and offices are developed in the Shipton Group developed signature Atrium building-too, along with a compact apartment tower; there are thriving business parks close by, developed by JCD Group, as well as JCD’s Blarney Business Park, now one of Cork’s largest heading up to 750,000sq ft in the next 18 months.

Into this fray of rejuvenated activity comes Sunbeam’s cleared, brownfield 4.3 acres offer, described as offering “exceptional potential for transformative projects in commercial, retail, or residential sectors”.

Phoenix from the flames? Picture: Denis Minihane

“The old Sunbeam site is not just a piece of land; it is an opportunity to make history in Cork,” comments selling agent Jeremy Murphy.

“The combination of its prime location, accessibility, and zoning creates endless possibilities for developers. Blackpool has rapidly become a vibrant hub for retail, office, and residential spaces, and this site is ideally positioned to leverage that growth.”

He adds that it’s immediately accessible from the northern end of Blackpool Retail Park, the N20, and Redforge Road, near the mixed-use developments occupying the balance of the former Sunbeam plant and factory. It fronts the N20, which “ensures excellent connectivity to Cork city centre, Limerick, and the greater Munster area.”

Zoned as “District Centre” under Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028 (Zoning Objective 07), thus the site is earmarked for mixed-use development, combining retail, economic, and residential growth.

“We have already seen strong interest in this property, as developers recognise its potential to become a landmark development,” says auctioneer Mr Murphy, adding “it offers an incredible opportunity to integrate commercial, residential, and community elements, delivering long-term value to Cork.”

DETAILS: Jeremy Murphy Auctioneers (021) 4270020

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